Media Advisory—The Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development will deliver 6 reports to the House of Commons on Thursday, November 6, 2025

Press Release

Ottawa, 23 October 2025—On Thursday, November 6, 2025, the Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development, Jerry V. DeMarco, on behalf of the Auditor General of Canada, will deliver 6 reports to the House of Commons. Tabling in Parliament is expected at approximately 10:00 am (Eastern timeET). Descriptions of the reports are provided below.

Embargoed reports

Access to electronic embargoed reports

7:15 am (ET)

Journalists accredited by a recognized media organization who wish to receive embargoed electronic copies of the reports must register by emailing infomedia@oag-bvg.gc.ca before 4:30 pm ET on November 5, 2025. Embargoed copies will be provided at 7:15 am ET on November 6, 2025. Please note that embargoed reports are available electronically only.

Online technical briefing

9:15 am to 10:00 am ET

Subject matter experts will be available online to answer technical or background questions (no attribution). Online sessions with experts will begin and end promptly at the times listed above. No additional time will be available.

News conference

12:00 pm to 1:00 pm ET

Journalists accredited by the Canadian Parliamentary Press Gallery are invited to attend a news conference with the Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development, Jerry V. DeMarco, from 12:00 pm to 1:00 pm ET in Room 325, 180 Wellington Street, Ottawa. Journalists who are not members of the press gallery may contact pressres2@parl.gc.ca to request temporary access.

Interviews

To book an interview, please call 1-888-761-5953 or email infomedia@oag-bvg.gc.ca.

The following reports are included in this release:

Establishing Terrestrial Protected Areas. This audit focuses on whether Environment and Climate Change Canada and Parks Canada were on track to establish protected and conserved areas covering 25% of terrestrial land and inland water by 2025. It also focused on whether the organizations were planning to protect and conserve areas covering 30% of terrestrial land and inland water by 2030 that are well‑connected, ecologically representative, and of significance to biodiversity and ecosystem functions and services.

Establishing Marine Protected Areas. This audit focuses on whether Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Parks Canada, and Environment and Climate Change Canada were on track to establish protected and conserved areas covering 25% of marine and coastal ecosystems by 2025. It also focused on whether the organizations were planning to protect and conserve areas covering 30% of marine and coastal ecosystems by 2030 that are ecologically representative and of significance to biodiversity and ecosystem functions.

Federal-Indigenous Management of Protected Areas. This audit focuses on whether Environment and Climate Change Canada, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, and Parks Canada supported Indigenous governments and organizations to implement selected cooperative management models for terrestrial and marine and coastal protected areas in a manner consistent with reconciliation.

Departmental Progress in Implementing Sustainable Development Strategies—Poverty Reduction. This audit focuses on whether the selected federal organizations contributed to meeting the poverty reduction target in the 2022–2026 Federal Sustainable Development Strategy by providing measurable departmental actions and by achieving expected results for these actions, and reported the results achieved.

Implementing the Canadian Net‑Zero Emissions Accountability Act—Financial Measures

This audit focuses on whether

• selected federal organizations made progress toward effectively implementing selected emission reduction measures to achieve Canada’s greenhouse emissions targets
• the Department of Finance Canada, in cooperation with Environment and Climate Change Canada, reported publicly on climate-related financial risks and opportunities in a manner that aligned with reporting best practices

Environmental Petitions Annual Report. This annual report on petitions informs Parliament and Canadians about the number, nature, and status of petitions and responses received from July 1, 2024, to June 30, 2025.

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